In Global Water Intelligence this month

Need to know

The National Water Company in Saudi Arabia has outlined a list of operating assets it hopes to make available to the private sector through brownfield BOT contracts, in a bid to recycle capital. The move is part of a major repositioning of the water and wastewater utility as it looks to meet the requirements of...

The NWC’s desalinationfocused neighbour, the Saline Water Conversion Corporation, meanwhile, is well underway with its own greenfield and brownfield privatisation plan. While a treasure trove of new privately financed IWPs is on the horizon, SWCC seems to be looking at a build-financetransfer model for...

Hyflux CEO Olivia Lum was at Changi General Hospital earlier this month to celebrate the launch of a medical trial of Hyflux’s ELO water on diabetic patients. Hyflux set up ELO with a Hungarian therapeutic water supplier in 2015 in a bid to diversify away from...

Oman is considering its own structural reform plan, following the submission to the government of recommendations on the structure of public water bodies. Plans to merge water and wastewater under corporatised regional water bodies are aimed at...

Singapore-based engineering and equipment sales business De.mem is planning to raise A$3.75-4.50 million (US$2.9-3.5 million) via an initial public offering (IPO) on the Australian Stock Exchange at the end of March. The company has...

Rean Water Tech, a twoyear- old Indian infrastructure operator focused on municipal water and wastewater treatment projects, is looking to offload a significant minority stake to an international partner to fund its next stage of growth. CEO Hitesh Arora thinks the company has the potential to...

Canadian waste-to-energy company Anaergia, too, is open to the idea of external investment in its Fibreplate ultrafiltration membrane business, CEO Andrew Benedek tells GWI this month...

The selection of a Maple Reinders-led team as the preferred bidder for a $178 million design-build-finance-operate (DBFO) contract in Hamilton, Ontario last month signifies the first privately financed biosolids management project in North America to move beyond the planning stages in over three years...

Cities across India also appear to be embracing the private finance model for largescale desalination projects. Initial excitement from the market was, somewhat inevitably, dimmed when prospective developers took a closer look...

The Agbar group, Suez’s subsidiary in Spain, is fighting to defend its dominant position on home ground in Catalunya as opposition to private sector management of water services grows in the wake of the Catalan government’s botched ATLL concession...

Kelda, the holding company for Yorkshire Water in the UK, has put its non-regulated business up for sale. The £100 million-a-year business has three main subsidiaries operating long-term contracts in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and also owns anaerobic digestion plants in Edinburgh and Cardiff. The move has reignited speculation over the future of...

Kelda’s ownership structure has been remarkably stable since being taken over back in 2007, even while trade has been brisk in slugs of privately held equity in a number of the other regulated UK water companies, often at multiples well in excess of their regulatory asset value. This month alone, Hastings Fund Management took its stake in South East Water up to 100%, Morgan Stanley announced...

Ironically, it is Macquarie which seems to be having the most trouble as it seeks to offload its remaining stake in Thames Water. Earlier this month, the Australian fund manager attempted to rekindle interest in...

A broad array of top-flight international consultancy firms – including KPMG, EY, Accenture, CH2M, Bain, and PwC – are among the 20 consortia shortlisted by Brazilian stateowned bank BNDES earlier this month to map out the creation of private sector concessions in six state water operators.

Colombia and Peru, too, are looking for ways to smooth out impediments to getting water PPPs over the finish-line.

Project Tracker

Project Tracker

Charting the progress of over 900 Desal, Reuse and PPP water projects in the international water industry.

Chart of the month

Water Leaders

Last month the Global Water Leaders’ Group launched a new initiative to highlight the achievements of the top performing utilities in the world. It has ambitions to change the way the water industry works.

Singapore PUB’s chief executive Peter Ng has another goal in mind: being the best for Singapore. It means pursuing impossible performance targets, pushing the boundaries of technology, and still worrying about how to win the trust of customers.

Chief Technology Officer

User Perspectives

Austrian oil and gas leader OMV has built environmental responsibility into its corporate identity, but as its core fields mature, it is having to adapt constantly to new operational parameters. GWI discovers how it plans to tackle the future landscape of the industry.

CTO Outlook

Amid a backdrop of unprecedented levels of attention towards China’s environmental problems, China Everbright Water has ramped up the scope of its technology development. GWI talks to the project developer’s technical director to find out the rewards being reaped.

A brace of very different projects could define the way Colombia moves forward with private sector participation in the water sector. Environmental deadlines and local disputes have not made it an easy ride for the contracting authorities.

Peru’s struggle to push successful PPPs over the finish-line suffered a serious blow last year, when only a single project was approved. How can the government re-engage with the private sector to create a workable environment for water projects?

A packaged energy recovery solution announced this month will provide both firms with a new base of recurring revenues. The service agreement structure could provide a blueprint for other water equipment companies looking to market off-balance sheet alternatives.

As the Modi government rolls out the first of its long-awaited hybrid annuity PPPs for wastewater treatment in the Ganga river basin, state elections are threatening the programme with yet more delays. What is going on behind the scenes?

Rean Water Tech, a young municipal water pure-play set up by former managers of Swach Environment, is looking for a strategic partner to achieve its dream of reaching $100 million in annual revenues within five years. MD Hitesh Arora spoke to GWI about his plans.

Venture capital-backed decentralised water treatment firm De.mem is launching an IPO on the Australian Stock Exchange as it looks to raise funds to break into Australia and China. It is targeting the industrial wastewater market with a new nanofiltration product.

Privately held Chinese water project developer Poten Environment is due to list on the Shanghai stock exchange on 17 February. Venture capital-backed CSD Water Service is likely to be next, after it received approval to sell a 25% post-money stake via a Shanghai IPO.

Europe

The decision to offload Kelda’s non-regulated business – which has stakes in a number of wastewater PFIs and anaerobic digestion PPPs – has re-ignited speculation over the future of other UK water companies’ ancillary business activities.

A robust defence of its dominant position in Catalunya will be vital if the Suez subsidiary is to stem the tide of public authorities looking to take water services back in-house. Where is it most vulnerable?

Middle East and Africa

Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company has been at the forefront of the changes sweeping the Kingdom. With a vast array of new projects lined up, CEO Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim tells GWI how he plans to match reform with a focus on customer service.

While Saudi Arabia’s municipal utility bodies look for new ways to engage with the private sector, the body responsible for the Kingdom’s industrial parks has embarked on a ground-breaking performance-based lease contract. How does the model work?

An ambitious array of suggestions about reform for water and wastewater services in the Sultanate have been submitted to the government. The changes are likely to be a precursor to a roll-out of new PPP opportunities.